Signaling box lock



Nov. 22, 1932. J. JUS T 1,888,859

SIGNALING BOX LOOK Filed Sept. 25, 1929 BREAK GLASS OPEN DOOR PULL HOOK 3 7 FOR FIRE Q 0 m 0 a 8 zg 0 Q "8 7. I gwfii m J UUETIIUF Jul-m Jus 1'20 and transmit-a fire alarm signal.

Patented Nov. 22, 1932' UNITE "STATES PA ENT oFricE JOHN JUST, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR, BY. MESNE ASSIGN MEN 'IS, .'.['O ASSOCIATED ELECTRIC LABORATORIES, INC., OF OHICAGO,IILLINOIS, A CORPORATION. OF JIDELA- WARE " SIGNALING :Box nocx Application filed September 25,1929.

This invention relates in general to signal- 7 or for transmitting the alarmwasprotected by a frangible element which had to be broken when sending inan alarm, resulting at times in the hands and fingers of, the operator beinglacerated by the sharp pieces of broken glass when he reached in to turn. the

handle. In other types of fire alarm boxes, a frangible element usually held. a pin. or plunger under tension so that when this element was broken it would releasethe plunger In this type of fire alarm box, it usually happens that mischievous people broke the element or, due to some accident, the frangible element became broken resulting in the transmission of a false alarm.

It is an object of this invention to overcome these defects inherent in previous types of fire alarm boxes, by providing a fire alarm box wherein the handle for opening the box 530 is exposed and mounted outside of the box and can only be operated when a frangible element is broken. When the handle is un locked the door may be opened thereby givthe frangible. elements. The front of the ing access to an inner box upon which another handle is mounted for transmitting the usual fire alarm signal. I

A feature of this inventlon resldes in the novel type of locking means for holding the I handle in locked relationship to the door, and upon the breaking of a frangible element the handle may be operated to release the door.

These and other features will be pointed out in the specification, which together with the single sheet of drawing constitutes the pre v t5 ferred embodiment of the invention.

Serial No. 395,013.

the complete fire alarm box.

Fig. 2 is a front view withthe outerdoor opened and the mechanism onthe inside of the door exposed.v The inner box isalso exposed in this View.

Fig.3 is a view of the innerboxwiththe door shown open, exposing all the inner apparatusused for transmitting the fire alarm signal.

Fig. 4 isa cross-section along the line14.4.- of Fig.2, illustrating on a larger scale," the details of the mechanism for locking the exposed handle of the box,under control of the frangible element.

The fire alarm box comprises the usual weather-proof outer metal casing 1, provided with a'door 2 which is hinged to the front of .the case. Inside of the outer case an inner case 3 of weather-proof construction is mounted which together with thejdoor ,4

hinged to the case contains the fire alarm transmittingmechanism. The innercase 3 is attached to'theouter case by means of screws in, the upwardly projecting portions 33- 33 of the case andby the screw holes 32-32 on the inside of the case. The outeridoor 2has a handle 5 mounted, on the outside of it exposed to view and. easily accessible. ,Above the handle a key hole for the lockmeehanism 9 is provided. for opening, the ,door2 for test ing purposes without operating the handle 5 and, to open the fire alarmbox regardless; of

cover Zis provided with a circularv metal flange 17, which isfastened to the cover by two bolts formed in the flangeand' by the hand nuts 20 on the rear of the cover. This flange 17 holds in position the frangible element 16 which may be of glass. An annular rubber ring 18 provides a cushion for the glass against the pressure of the metal ring .of. the :fiange 17.

, A metal plunger .12 is held in restraint by the frangible element 16 against the, tension In the drawing Fig. lis; a front View of lock operating element 10, which in turn of the spring 13. In assembling the plunger 12, a cup washer 14 is inserted over the plunger 12 and a pin 15 is then forced through a hole in the plunger, thereby holding the assembly together as a unit in the cup-shaped portion 19 formed out of the door 2. A stop formed on the rear end of the plunger 12 prevents the plunger from being forced completely outward by the spring 13 when the frangible element 16 is broken. The handle 5 is fastened on the rear side of the door 2 to a lever 7 by means of the screw 8, and the tension spring 11 attached to one end of this lever holds it normally against the stop 21.

Referring to Fig. i, the lever 7 is pre-. vented from being moved by the handle 5 in an upward direction by the plunger 12 and in the opposite direction by the stop 21. It

only can be moved when'the plunger 12 has been moved-out of its path of movement.

An upward projecting portion of the lever 7 normally rests against the lock operating lever-1O which is arranged with an arm 36 formed integral therewith so that movement of this lever 10 by the lever 7 will operate and move the bolt 35 against the tension of the spring 37 to disengage it from the casing 1 so that the door 2 may be opened. The

spring 37 is held in position on a rod 38 sliding in ahole in the body of the bolt .35. The stop 22 prevents excessive rotation of the lever 7 when it is permitted to operate. In

order to open the door 2 without breaking the glass and operating the handle 5, a special key is inserted from the front of the door into the lock 9 and turned so that it engages the part 40 and withdraws the bolt 35 from the casing 1.

In the operation of thislire alarm box for the transmission of a fire signal, the first act of the user is to break the frangible element 16. This permits the plunger 12 to move forward and outward under control of the spring 13 and out of the path of movement of the lever 7 as seen in Fig. 4:. The handle is then turned in a counter clock-wise direction, thereby moving the lever 7 upward against the tension of the spring 11 and across the end of the retracted plunger 12. The projecting portion of the lever 7 then moves the operates its arm 36 into engagement with the bolt mechanism 35 of the lock 9 and moves it 12 inward again so that it will prevent operation of the lever 7 From the foregoing, it will be seen, that a novel type of fire alarm box has been provided, that is of simple construction, requires a minimum amount of effort in operating, and prevents injury to the person transmitting an alarm.

What is claimed is:

1. In a locking arrangement for a door and casing, a lock on said door having a spring pressed bolt engaging said casing, a lever on the rear of said'door, a handle on the front of said door connected to said lever, means on said lock in engagement with one end of said lever for withdrawing said bolt from said casing, a plunger extending through said door and projecting into the path of movement of the other end of said lever, and frangible means on the front of said door for holding said plunger in the path of said lever. to prevent operation of said handle and the opening of said door.

2. In a locking arrangement for a door and easing, a lock on said door having a bolt normally urged into the casing, a handle on the front of the door, a lever on the rear of the door connected with said handle and operated thereby, means on said lock in engagement with said lever to withdraw the bolt from the casing and open the door, a plunger extending through the vdoor for preventing movement of said lever, and frangible means on the front of said door for releasing said plunger to permit the lever I to be operated by the handle to engage the means on said lock and withdraw the bolt' from the casing.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 23rd day of September, A. D

JOHN JUST.

against the tension of spring 37, permitting the opening of the door 2 to give access to the alarm transmitting mechanism of the inner box 3. Upon release of the handle 5, the lever 7 is restored to its originalposition by the spring 11, while the lever 10 together with the bolt 35 are restored by the spring 37.

, In resetting the device, the hand nuts 20 are removed so that the metal flange 17 can be dismounted from the cover 2 and anew frangible element 16 inserted behind the metal flange 17 thereby forcing the plunger 

